A source close to the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said on October 1 that Hamas could be conditionally accepted in response to the "20-point plan" proposed by the United States to end the Gaza conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Hamas had “three to four days” to respond to the plan, and if it did not accept it, the United States would “fullly support” Israel’s military action in the Gaza Strip.
On September 29, U.S. President Trump (left) welcomed visiting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, D.C. Trump announced after talks with Netanyahu that day that Netanyahu had agreed to the "20-point plan" proposed by the United States to end the Gaza conflict. Photo by Xinhua Agency reporter Hu Yousong
Several Middle Eastern experts say the U.S. has given the “20-point plan” in a “last-mortem” way, in fact leaving the Palestinian people with an exceptionally difficult choice – “continuing the war and killing or accepting colonial occupation.”
“Hamas’ worst option”
Sources close to Hamas said that the conditions that Hamas may put forward include revising some clauses in the plan, clarifying the timetable for the withdrawal of Israeli troops and guarantees related to Hamas.
He said there are some positive factors on the surface of the 20-point plan, but it contains “long-term risks.”
Middle East experts believe that for Hamas, the US "20-point plan" is the "worst option." The plan would require Hamas to disarm, while leaving open the possibility of maintaining a large Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has refused to disarm and insisted on Israel withdrawing its troops from the Gaza Strip. The source said Hamas regards whether to disarm as an "issue of survival."
Some experts believe that this plan is not without room for Hamas to consider. If the plan can prompt the United States and Israel to recognize the Palestinians 'right to statehood or make a more active commitment to this, it can enhance Hamas' political influence within Palestine, including in the West Bank.
“Giving Israeli troops autonomy”
Regarding Israel's withdrawal, the U.S. "20-point plan" states that if the plan is agreed by both sides, the war will stop immediately, the Israeli army will withdraw to the "agreed boundary", and "the front will be frozen until the conditions for the complete phased withdrawal (of the Israeli army) are met".
This is an Israeli military force shot on the side of the Gaza border on September 19th. An Israeli military spokesman issued a statement on the same day that it would launch a military operation in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip with “unprecedented force.”
Israel's statement is that if Hamas agrees to the plan, Israel will first "moderately withdraw its troops" and accept the detained personnel; further Israeli withdrawal will depend on Hamas 'disarmament and demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.
Roy Kubrick, director of research at the Israeli Regional Foreign Policy Institute, said the plan linked the Israeli withdrawal with the “Hamas disarmament and the de-militarization of Gaza” process, but lacked a “operable authentication mechanism” that essentially gave Israel the autonomy to remain in Gaza for a long time and to resume military operations at any time.
Rifaat Badawi, adviser to the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, said that since the Lebanese-Israeli ceasefire agreement came into effect on November 27, 2024, Israel has refused to withdraw its troops from Lebanon and continues to carry out frequent air strikes, which is undoubtedly a "lesson from the past."
“Equivalent to New Colonial Rule”
Regarding the management of the Gaza Strip after the ceasefire, the U.S. "20-point Plan" proposes to set up a transitional committee composed of "qualified Palestinians and international experts", which will be supervised by an international transitional agency called the "Peace Committee" chaired by Trump until the Palestinian National Authority "completes reforms" and "can safely and effectively regain control of the Gaza Strip".
Qatar Al Jazeera pointed out that this plan did not give a timetable for handing over the Gaza Strip to Palestinian management, and was vague about this. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly said: "Gaza will be managed neither by Hamas nor by the Palestinian National Authority."
The London-based New Arabic newspaper said that the people of Gaza are now in trouble: if they reject the US proposal, there will be more deaths awaiting the people of Gaza; if they accept the proposal, the Gaza Strip will face the risk of a “colonial occupation” by the United States and Israel.
Regarding the "two-state solution" of concern to the international community, the "20-point plan" stated: "When Gaza's reconstruction makes progress and the Palestinian National Authority reform is faithfully implemented, the conditions for a credible path to Palestinian self-determination and statehood may finally be met." Palestinians believe that this is "setting unattainable conditions with a condescending attitude."
Hani Masri, director of the Center for Palestinian Policy and Strategic Issues Studies, said the U.S. plan to exclude any Palestinian representative from the governance of Gaza, directly depriving the Palestinians of their right to self-determination, is equivalent to a “neocolonialist” rule, will only exacerbate the separation of Gaza from the West Bank, eroding the “two-state” basis.
In Masri’s view, the U.S. plan gives the outlook for Gaza “only worse and worse”.The worst situation is that the war stopped but Gaza was taken over by the United States and Palestine was divided; the worst is that a ceasefire could not be achieved, and Israel, with U.S. support, “completely destroyed the Palestinian cause.”
Source: Xinhua News Agency